Jessie
by gizmogurlie
Summary: Jareth is back for revenge. This time he takes Sarah's daughter to the Underground to raise as his own. Now its Jessie's turn to figure out the secret to defeat Jareth and escape from the Labyrinth.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **Hey everyone! This is a new direction I'm taking but I've decided to write a fan fiction based on my most favorite film. I hope you enjoy it. Credit will also be given to my friend who will be known as Alexander Highwind for agreeing to collaborate with me on this. This story is as much his as it is mine.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything that is from Labyrinth. Jareth, the Goblins and everything relevant belong to Jim Henson. Any similarities to other stories out there are pure coincidence.

**Prologue- After The Labyrinth**

"_You have no power over me."_

Those words echoed in Jareth's mind moments after his return to the castle. The hurt radiated in his heart but a deep anger raged in his eyes. His subjects would without a doubt feel this anger. Hearing footsteps approaching behind him, he turns to see one of his many goblin subordinates strutting in with a party hat upon his helm.

Knowing that this goblin was just coming in from the celebration of Sarah's victory, a sly smirk grazed Jareth's features as he moves out of the shadows, revealing himself to this goblin.

The goblin freezes in his tracks, "Your majesty…you're back!"

The goblin shakes in terror as Jareth, without saying a word, grabs him by the back of the neck and with no effort, lifts him up to eye level, "Well now that you've had your fun. I'd appreciate it if you would gather my court and the three responsible for aiding the girl." As Jareth finishes speaking, he releases the goblin, letting him fall to the floor, then turns to sit at his throne.

The goblin clumsily gets to his feet, grabs his helmet, and shakes off the shock from being dropped as he puts it back on. He looks to see Jareth watching him expectantly from his throne.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Jareth said, not hiding his aggravation, "MOVE!"

The goblin, springing up in panic, immediately rushes out to carry out Jareth's bidding as his party hat flies off and lands on the stone cold floor.

Getting up at that very moment seeing the novelty item lying there, Jareth couldn't help but have a more devilish smile paint his face as he lays his foot down on the party hat, crumpling up below his leather boot, causing the entire throne room to echo from the sound of his boot hitting the floor.

"Carry on with your celebration, dear Sarah," Jareth's voice drips with vengeance, "I am far from defeat."

**A/N:** Well there you go. The first chapter…well the prologue to be more precise. Hope you enjoyed and please take the time to review.


	2. Chapter 1: Fourteen Years Later

**A/N: **Alright I know that first chapter was a bit short but that's the point of a prologue. At least that's how it felt for me and Alexander Highwind. Either way, here is the first chapter of our story.

**Chapter 1: Fourteen Years Later…**

Sarah's fingers were poised over the keyboard of her computer as she dived into her imagination, yearning to finish what she had started. Unfortunately her only thoughts were of her strong craving for a good cup of coffee.

"Oh boy…" she muttered under her breath. She was very reluctant to take a break as she had deadlines to meet, but the craving proved to be much too overwhelming. As she turned to get up, however, she stopped suddenly, seeing her husband, Thomas, with a cup of coffee in his hand. He smiled as he handed her the cup, then leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"You know me too well." Sarah commented as she took a sip of her coffee.

"We've been married for seven years," Thomas said with a laugh as he rubbed her shoulders, "It would be a crime if I didn't know by now."

"Besides," he continued, "Jessie's ballet class lets out in ten minutes."

Sarah jumped up, "Oh Gosh! I can't believe I forgot." She swiftly grabbed her car keys on the desk and ran out with Thomas who grabbed their coats from the hallway closet as they rushed out the door and into Sarah's blue station wagon.

The couple enjoyed the silence as they made the short drive to their daughter's class. Sarah could hear a piano playing classical ballet tunes faintly as she parked the car right outside of the dance studio. Just as Sarah and Thomas walked in to watch the class, the instructor had all the girls line up in rows.

"Now class, we've been working on our balance and now I would like to see if you could try a pirouette." Flawlessly she demonstrated a pirouette and then took a moment to survey the girls. A few of them rocked back and forth aimlessly, fiddling with their hands while some of the others were looking expectantly towards the benches where the parents sat to watch.

Only a few girls really showed interest and Jessie was one of them.

At only six years old, Sarah and Thomas's little girl already showed a keen interest in ballet. She smiled a toothy grin as she stood up and walked to the front of the class.

"Okay now, demi-plié to fourth position, Jessie."

Jessie nodded as she put her right arm in front of her and her left arm out to her side. The teacher approached and guided Jessie's legs to the proper position.

The teacher nodded approvingly, "Good, now pick your right leg up into a passé position and turn."

Jessie picked up her right leg and put it to her knee. She wobbled for a bit as she attempted the turn. Before even completing the turn, she keeled over and fell on her side. Sarah gasped in concern for a moment but breathe a sigh of relief as Jessie started laughing.

The teacher ran to help her up as she announced the class was dismissed. The girls gathered to the benches to meet their parents.

"Mommy! Daddy! Did you see?" Jessie asked excitingly as she ran to her parents. Thomas wasted no time in scooping his daughter in his arms and giving her a hug. "We sure did, sweetheart." Sarah said affectionately as she leaned over and kissed Jessie on the cheek.

"Hey Jessie!"

Thomas put her down as a little blonde girl came running over to them. It was Jessie's friend Amber. The two have known each other since they were babies thanks to Sarah meeting Amber's mother in a yoga class when they were both pregnant.

"Jessie, my mom is taking me to the park. Do you want to come?"

Without saying a word, Jessie turned and looked at her parents for approval. Sarah shared a look with Thomas.

"Please, mommy." Jessie stuck out her bottom lip and worked the puppy dog eyes. "We should all go, honey," Thomas said, "You always have tomorrow to finish that paper."

Sarah looked down at Jessie with a playful smile as she picked her up so they were face to face, "I think mommy could use some fun too."

Jessie giggled as Sarah twirled her around and tickled her.

xxx

Sarah smiled as she sat at the picnic tables with Amber's mother, Karen and Thomas. She was glad she decided to come to the park. The leaves were just barely starting to brown from the approaching autumn season and the air was so crisp.

"So how are things in the office, Tom?" Karen asked as she kept a sharp eye on the kids as they ran about playing.

Thomas simply shrugged, "Eh just the same old stuff."

"Heh is that all?" Karen said jokingly as Sarah slid her arm behind Thomas, "My husband is just too modest." Sarah teased as they kissed.

"Whoa!!"

Jessie, who was on rollerblades, held on tight to the jump rope tied around Amber's older brother, Charlie. Amber followed behind them as Charlie ran though some trees. Jessie tried hard to keep her balance as she ducked and moved to evade the branches whipping at her face. Charlie continued to pick up speed.

Jessie began to lose control of her balance on the skates as she struggled to hold on. Her mind began to wonder how could a scrawny little boy like Charlie pick up such speed without losing his breath or passing out.

"Charlie! Watch out!" Amber screamed and within seconds, all Jessie saw was Charlie tumbling down as she zoomed right past him. To her horror, she was heading straight for the pond. Unable to put on the brakes, she tumbled down into the pond.

She stood up quickly in the pond, coughing and gasping. Carefully she started to move to the edge of the pond but stopped when she saw a flash of white flutter out of nowhere. She looked up to see a white barn owl land on a nearby tree. It stood perching on a thick branch that stretched over the pond. Jessie became entranced by the bird's piercing black eyes staring back at her.

Thinking that this was odd, a mischievous smile tugged at her lips as she picked up a stone from the bottom of the pond, and threw it at the owl. The stone flew past the owl as it hooted at her before flying away.

"Dumb bird…" Shrugging it off, she heard her friends running to her accompanied by her parents. "Jessie, are you alright?" Amber asked as she extended her hand to help her out of the pond. Knowing she wasn't going to make it, Jessie kicked off her rollerblades and tossed them to her friends as she waddled over to them.

Sarah began to examine her, "Are you hurt anywhere, honey?"

Jessie had a hole on her jeans and gasped when she looked to see blood pouring down her leg.

She looked up to her mother with a frown, "What's that look like, ketchup?" Charlie and Amber stifled their laughter as the parents surrounded Jessie in a panic. "Jessie you should be more careful" Sarah replied. Everyone jumped back as Jessie flipped her wet hair, causing water to fly everywhere.

Noticing that Jessie was starting to shiver, Sarah took off her coat and wrapped it around her, "We should probably get her home now."

Karen nodded, "Yeah, we should probably go too."

Jessie waved to her friends as they started to leave with their mother. Thomas picked up Jessie since she was in her socks and carried her to their car. Sarah followed with the roller skates.

_That Night_

It was a quarter after eight and Sarah was content now that her deadlines had been met. After sending them through email, she opened a file that held a novel she had been working on. In the background she could hear Jessie splashing around and laughing in the tub as Thomas bathed her. She sighed deeply as she started at the blank document on the screen then pushed the keyboard away, knowing she wasn't going to get anything done tonight.

"Why is this so hard?" She asked out loud.

As far as careers go, Sarah had only mediocre success with small one page stories for magazines and newspapers. A few months ago she was lucky enough to have a few of her short stories submitted for a few books and the publishing companies wished to see more. But she yearned to get her big break with a novel of some kind. Her only problem was she couldn't find inspiration.

"Hi mom," Jessie came bounding into the study and jumped on Sarah's lap.

"Good, you're not yucky anymore." Sarah quipped.

Jessie faced Sarah and wrapped her arms around her neck, "I was never yucky."

"She wanted her mommy to tuck her in tonight." Thomas said as he appeared in the doorway. His sleeves were rolled up and he held a small towel in one hand. The front of his shirt was completely soaked.

"Oh you think it's funny, huh?" Thomas said from seeing Sarah's amused expression.

"Of course," Sarah laughed as she stood up with Jessie in her arms.

"Good night, sweetheart." Thomas put one arm around Jessie, giving her a hug as Sarah walked past him.

"Hey what's that on your pjs?" Sarah asked, pointing down at Jessie's chest. The moment she looked down, Sarah playfully poked her on the tip of her nose.

"Hey!" Jessie giggled as she grabbed her mom's finger.

Sarah hitched Jessie higher on her hip as she made in into her room. She turned on the light and put Jessie down, "Now who do you want to sleep with tonight?" Sarah asked as she made her way over to the bookcase full of stuffed animals, ranging from baby dolls to farm animals and a various selection of teddy bears.

Jessie cocked her head as her eyes scanned the shelves, "Hmm, I want Lancelot tonight."

"Okay, Lancelot it is." Sarah stood on her tiptoes as she reached for the old tattered bear. She gazed at it for a moment as she remembered the day her brother Toby passed it down to Jessie on her 1st birthday.

"Alright, let's get you into bed," Sarah pulled down the covers and Jessie crawled in and got settled. As she tucked her in, Sarah placed Lancelot right next to her. Jessie turned on her side as she wrapped her arm around the bear.

"Good night, honey."

She leaned over Jessie and kissed her on the forehead. Sarah stayed for a moment, affectionately stroking Jessie's cheek and smoothing out her long brown hair. She then went to turn off the light and leave, closing the door half way as Jessie's eyes started to close.

In just moments, Jessie had drifted off to sleep.

The room was calm with only the sound of a faint wind from outside. A soft tapping began at the window as a white owl flapped against the glass. In just a few seconds, the window blew open and the owl made its way in. Jessie barely stirred as the flapping ceased only to be replaced by the sound of footsteps.

After Sarah finished putting her daughter to bed she trudged wearily down the stairs glad to have some alone time with her husband. She smiled as she saw Thomas sitting by the fireplace with a glass of wine. The moment Thomas saw her up the stairs he patted the on the cushion next to him. "About time you joined me."

Sarah sat down next to him as he poured a glass for her.

"Everything went alright with the deadline?" Thomas set the bottle down as he spoke.

"Yes, I've finished and emailed them so I should be getting their call tomorrow."

Thomas put his arm around her as she continued, "So I've just been working on that novel which so far is about nothing."

Thomas chuckled, "Well there is always tomorrow to turn it into something."

They were suddenly interrupted as they heard a clatter coming from upstairs. Thomas rolled his eyes, "I thought she was asleep."

"So did I," Sarah stood up and went for the stairs, "I'll handle it."

Thomas sat back and relaxed with an amused grin, "It's your turn anyway."

Sarah rolled her eyes and shook her head as she continued up the stairs and down the hall towards Jessie's room. She reached Jessie's bedroom and opened the door, "Sweetheart, you should be sleeping."

She expected to find Jessie rummaging through her toy box or jumping on her bed but there was nothing but silence. The light from the hallway shone dimly into the dark bedroom and Sarah frowned in perplexity as she noticed that Jessie's bed was empty.

"Hello Sarah." A sinister voice spoke through the darkness.

Sarah gasped at the familiarity. "It can't be…" She reached over with a trembling hand to the light switch, praying that it wasn't who she thought it was.

Standing there in all his glory was The Goblin King, just as she remembered him. However she didn't take the time to take it all in as she noticed something horrible.

Cradled in his arms was Jessie, still fast asleep.

Sarah barely let out a scream as she backed up, covering her mouth in her shock.

"Now, now," Jareth spoke, "You wouldn't want to wake your little girl now, would you?" Sarah couldn't take her eyes off Jessie. She was sleeping peacefully, still hugging Lancelot.

"Give her back to me, Jareth." Sarah pleaded, finding her voice.

"Now why would I want to do that when you have given me such a great opportunity to settle the score?"

"What?"

Jareth just laughed, "You have any idea how many years I've spent watching you?"

The shock in Sarah's eyes was apparent but she tried to regain some composure, "So I figure you had nothing better to do?" She didn't want him to know she was afraid.

"I'd mind my tongue if I were you, Sarah." Jareth warned, "I want you to feel the pain I have felt all this time. Consider this clemency on my part but once I leave here, you and your dear husband shall forget this child ever existed," He extended one arm and produced a crystal out of thin air. Sarah watched as the crystal began to float slowly toward her.

"You both will be forced to wallow in a deep state of confusion and uncertainty," he continued, "Not only forgetting Jessie but the world around you as well."

Sarah could do or say nothing as she started to back away from the floating crystal. She was helpless, "Take me instead if you have to, Jareth. Just please leave my baby here."

Jareth frowned, "Oh now you choose to accept me. Too bad my interests lie elsewhere."

At that moment, Jessie stirred, "Mommy?"

Jareth waved his hand above Jessie and she continued back to sleep, "Don't worry about her. She will forget everything of this world once she wakes up."

Sarah was trying so hard to be strong but the moment she heard her daughter call out to her, she couldn't take it anymore, "No!" She lunged at Jareth but with a quick wave of his hand, the crystal orb flew swiftly at her. The moment it touched her, it burst and Sarah began to lose consciousness.

She fell to the floor and Jareth laughed in satisfaction but quickly produced another crystal as he heard footsteps running up the stairs, "Sarah? Is everything alright?"

Thomas burst into the room but in seconds fell to the floor next to Sarah. "Well," His eyes drifted to Jessie, "Time to leave little one."

A gust of wind blew through the room as The Goblin King disappeared with Jessie. The wind consumed everything in Jessie's room, leaving behind no trace that a little girl had ever been there.

**A/N: **Thanks for your patience on this chapter and I hope you people keep on reading. I'll try to update as fast as possible.


	3. Chapter 2: Within The Castle

**A/N: **Thank you so much for the reviews you guys! You are making this even more exciting for us. My collaborator and I have a lot of fun getting together to brainstorm and bring out chapters so it's really nice when we get such positive feedback.

**Chapter 2: Within The Castle**

_10 Years Later…_

The clouds swirled, blending into the pink and yellow of the morning sky. The world that was the Labyrinth remained unchanged even from the time Sarah herself had visited. Within the walls surrounding the castle beyond the Goblin City was a garden that flourished with many colors. Sitting underneath a peach tree that stood in the middle of the garden was a young girl.

At sixteen years old, Jessie had unknowingly succumbed to the hold Jareth had over her. He had manipulated her into believing that he was her father and she had absolutely no memory of her life from before.

Jessie sighed heavily as she stood up. Behind her was a large stone wall. She raced over and attempted to pull herself up. She couldn't reach the top but was able to hoist herself up enough to peer over it.

All she could see was parts of a ruined city where goblins of many shapes and sizes lived, beyond that were the gates that lead out into the Labyrinth.

"You're not thinking of going out there, milady?"

"Whoa…!" Completely startled, Jessie fell back from the wall and landed on top of a bush. She jumped up with a shriek as a few fairies flew at her from the now flattened shrub. She swatted them away, remembering how she learned the hard way about the true nature of fairies when she was little.

She looked down to see Sir Didymus holding a serving dish, "Sorry, fair maiden. I didn't mean to scare you."

Jessie shook her head as she stepped off the shrub, "No its okay, Didymus."

She nodded in thanks as Sir Didymus handed her the serving tray. As she sat down to eat, Sir Didymus tried hard to hide his shame. He knew Jessie didn't belong here but he also knew of the consequences if he said anything to her.

He remembered the night Jareth brought her into the castle. It was unusually stormy that night which generally meant that The Goblin King was up to no good.

The others already having received their punishments for helping Sarah, Sir Didymus pushed his dread aside as he had yet to receive his. He spent what felt like hours pacing up and down the corridor of the castle.

As his mind continued to race with many possible ideas, The Goblin King walked in with a little girl sleeping in his arms. His subjects followed him, excited about the girl arriving. It had been several decades since Sarah, and Toby had escaped the Labyrinth. Jareth kicked at the goblins that came too close as he headed up the stairs. Sir Didymus decided to follow.

The Goblin King continued down a hall and turned to the first door. He just stood there for a brief moment as the door opened on its own. Sir Didymus rushed in as it closed. They were in a small room with nothing but a bed and table. The room looked as if no one slept in it for years. Jareth turned to face Sir Didymus after placing the girl gently on the bed.

"Ah it's you and right on time." Jareth said rather pleasantly, "As you may recall, we had a situation regarding punishment for your defiance. I am willing to grant you clemency if you give this to the girl once she awakens."

With that, a crystal formed in Jareth's hand from thin air and he tossed it to Sir Didymus. The moment he caught it, it turned into a peach. He gazed at the peach with a heavy heart, "Is this all I must do?"

Jareth narrowed his eyes which came no surprise to Sir Didymus for he knew the price he was going to pay for clemency would be massive.

Jareth pointed to the sleeping girl, "Once you swear your allegiance, you will be responsible for accompanying this child. And by accompanying, I mean keeping her oblivious by any means necessary."

Didymus nodded obediently. He expected a weight to lift off his shoulders but it only grew as he watched the little girl sleep. Jareth pulled out a teddy bear and tossed it to a goblin waiting at the door, "Get rid of this," He ordered, "No reason for her to have it anymore."

"Sir Didymus, are you alright?"

Quickly he snapped out of his reminiscence and was back in the garden with Jessie. She had set her tray aside and just looked upon Sir Didymus with a look of concern, "What happened?"

"Oh nothing," Sir Didymus shook his head, "Just remembering some duties I must tend to."

Jessie nodded, "Are you going into the city today?"

"One of the few duties I have, milady."

Jessie's face brightened, "Can I come?"

Just as Sir Didymus was about to answer, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see Jareth walking down the steps leading into the castle. Jessie stood up as he approached. Didymus just bowed.

"And what may I ask is going on?" Jareth asked.

Jessie stepped toward him, "Well Father, Sir Didymus was going to go into the city and I asked him if it was okay if I went with him."

Jareth's eyes narrowed at Sir Didymus, "I see," He thought for a moment, stroking his chin. Jessie knew he was always so hesitant about letting her go into the city. In fact, it took many years of convincing on her part, before Jareth always allowed her to go. He always kept her as close to the castle as he could. She never understood his hesitation.

"What about your meal?" He finally said. Jessie sighed mentally, knowing he was just coming up with excuses for her not to go. She smirked as she snapped her fingers and the tray disappeared.

"Problem solved," Jessie smiled in triumph. Jareth shook his head, "I'm beginning to regret teaching you magic. But carry on."

He waved his hand, beckoning her to go. Jessie jumped as Didymus whistled sharply. In seconds, the sound of barking came from a distance but was getting closer. "Not again." Jessie muttered as she turned around, only to be knocked to the floor by Ambrosious, Sir Didymus's steed. It amused Jessie how proud Sir Didymus was to have Ambrosious, considering he was just a common English sheepdog and not a stallion like the knights would ride in the books she read.

However Ambrosious suited Sir Didymus very well.

"Okay, okay, we are done." Jessie said as she shook her head back and forth, attempting to avoid his slobbering kisses.

Jareth rolled his eyes as he approached, "Didymus control this mangy mutt at once!" He grabbed Ambrosious by the neck and pulled him swiftly off Jessie.

"Sorry, your highness," Sir Didymus ran over to Ambrosious and attempted to mount up, "Whoa boy." he commanded as Ambrosious finally stood still and waited.

Jessie remained on the floor during this whole ordeal but Jareth reached down and pulled her up by her arm. "Sorry," she said, not really knowing what else to say.

Jareth smirked, "Oh how you amuse me, Jessie."

"Just don't worry so much," Jessie began to walk up the stairs, leading into the castle, "We won't be gone long.

Jareth nodded, "Of course." He followed them inside and down a corridor leading to the front door. Jareth wasn't happy as he watched Jessie and Didymus leave with Ambrosious. However as much as he wanted to keep Jessie in the dark, he knew he had to cut some slack to prevent questions and suspicion on her part.

Entering into the Goblin City, Ambrosious ran with Didymus holding on for dear life. All around the city you could see goblins sleeping in the middle of the street while other peddled pieces of scrap metal and useless treasures. The goblins who noticed Jessie, bowed before her very quickly and fearfully, knowing that if they did not bow before their princess they would be punished severely.

"What exactly happened here, Sir Didymus?" Jessie asked as she surveyed the few houses that were crumbling down. She held back a laugh as one goblin dropped a giant chunk of rubble onto a much bigger goblin. The little goblin let out a yelp and ran off.

"Ah well, quite some time ago I, and a few others, helped a young girl through this city to get to the castle. His majesty gave quite a welcome on that day." Didymus said.

"You mean a human girl?" Jessie was astonished for there was never a story or myth of any kind of a human being seen within the city.

Didymus nodded, "Yes, she was here to rescue her baby brother. His majesty was going to turn him into a goblin if she didn't get him back."

"Wow!"

They kept walking. Jessie was completely stunned from hearing all of this, "So what was that girl's name?"

"Sarah." Didymus replied.

"Sarah?" Jessie repeated as she stopped for a moment. Didymus turned around; realizing Jessie wasn't beside him anymore, "Is something wrong, my lady?"

Jessie couldn't help but feel a certain familiarity with the name. She dwelled on this for a brief moment but decided to let it go. She smiled and shook her head, "Nothing at all."

"Is that the girl?"

"Yes that's her."

"Why don't you tell her now?"

THAWACK!

"Oww!"

"Now now, it's not time yet."

Jessie's heart began to pound as she heard these voices. She knew they were talking about her because there was no other girl they could possibly be talking about. Looking down an alleyway, there were a few goblins stretched out on piles of garbage but there was one who stood out. He was a tall, elder looking goblin in robes with a weird bird like hat on his head. The bird moved its head around, observing.

Jessie found herself entranced by this goblin as he did nothing but stare.

She started to move toward him but quickly bumped into something. "Hey, watch it!"

Jessie looked down to see a furry goblin that was no taller than her knees. He wore a pair of oversized glasses with only one cracked lens that was cracked down the middle. His belt was lined with rusted tools, and piano keys.

"Hey girl, did you want something?"

She ignored him and quickly turned her attention back to the elder goblin. But he was gone, vanished into thin air.

"Where'd he go?"

The tiny goblin eager to sell his goods immediately grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into a nearby shop. The shop's walls were decked out with a variety of trinkets that covered everything from the ceiling down to the floor. There were dolls that were fully intact, eyeglasses of many shapes and sizes, which all seemed to have cracked lenses. There were also many jewels the size of a person's fist and other odd charms that shined, glittered, sparkled or a combination of the three.

"Feel free to look around, child." The goblin said with glee.

Jessie did just that but for only a moment as she quickly spotted what seemed to be the prize of this goblin's entire collection.

A handcrafted wooden piano lined with roses along the legs, with beautifully polished ivory keys, and on top of the masterpiece was a detailed carving of a ballerina doing a pirouette adorned with a jeweled crown on her head.

Jessie drifted over to the piano and sat down. "Where did you find this?" she drawled out, not taking her eyes off the piano.

"A man in a cloak sold it to me, couldn't see his face." He said, distracted as he hauled in a huge sack and started dragging it to the back of the store, "I'll be back."

He disappeared behind the curtain. Jessie's attention went back to the piano. She began to fiddle with the keys. The sound was flawless even with Jessie's lack of piano playing skills.

"It's quite fascinating how one can find something so beautiful even in this garbage dump of a city."

Jessie turned around to see Jareth standing at the door, looking quite amused.

Jessie chuckled, "Isn't this your city?"

Jareth laughed as he walked in and began fiddling with a few trinkets as he made his way over to the piano, "It's like they say Jessie, beggars can't be choosers."

And with that, he began to play. Jessie listened intently to his slow almost haunting melodies. "Why don't you dance?" He suggested.

"Here? In the shop?" Jessie raised an eyebrow.

"What shop?" Jareth spoke, hinting to Jessie.

Perplexed for a moment, she immediately realized that they were not longer in the shop but back in the castle, in the throne room to be more exact. As Jareth continued to play, Jessie stood up, overwhelmed by her desire to dance.

She stood in the middle of the throne room and began to move to the music. She moved elegantly yet enthusiastic for there was nothing more gratifying than her ballet. Jareth smiled in triumph as he watched her, gladly knowing she thought she was free to do as she pleased.

What Jessie didn't know was that it was no accident that she stumbled upon that piano. Jareth was always one step ahead of her in making sure that her curiosity would continuously lead her back to him.

As she danced, Jessie frowned for a moment as her body began to feel awkward. Her head swam as the castle began to slip away and she drifted into an entirely different world. She was now in a single room with wooden floors and mirrors that covered most of the walls. Jessie moved evadingly to the side of the room as she realized she was standing in the middle of a bunch of little girls dancing around her. They were being led by an older woman. To the far left side of the room, a man was playing the piano.

Jessie smiled for a moment as she watched the girls dance, how cute they looked in their matching leotards and tights.

Her breath caught in her throat as she noticed one of the little girls. She danced with such passion in spite of her wobbling. She knew right away, even in her disbelief, "That's me."

After speaking out loud, Jessie expected all the girls and the dance teacher to turn their heads toward her. But everyone kept going as if she wasn't there. Jessie's heart began to pound.

"What is going on?" She ran to the dance teacher, "Can you tell me what is going on?" As she reached out, her hand went right through the dance teacher's shoulder. Frightened, Jessie pulled her hand back right away, "I gotta get out of here."

As she turned to run for the door, she paused as she looked toward the large window next to the door. There were quite a few adults watching the kids but one stood out. It was a woman with long dark hair and faded green eyes. She smiled sweetly as she watched the little girls dance. Jessie felt her panic begin to diminish and a feeling of comfort fell over her. There was something about this woman…

Jessie squeezed her eyes shut as a blinding white light consumed her. As quickly as it came, it diminished and she was now back in Jareth's chamber.

Jareth stopped playing as he noticed Jessie beginning to swoon. He jumped up and rushed to her side just in time to catch her as she collapsed.

**A/N:** Sorry if this chapter took long but its hard to collaborate when my partner workds during the day and I work at night but I hope you enjoy all the same


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